Donald Trump seeks ‘America First’ defence chief amid government shutdown and stock market chaos
Xeber24.net – Telegraph
Donald Trump is facing an uphill battle to replace his defence secretary as the president reels from perhaps the worst, and most chaotic, week of his presidency so far.
In a major dent to his “America First” foreign policy, several leading candidates for the job have already declared they oppose pulling US troops out of Syria. They were joined by leading Republican senators, which would make congressional confirmation of an isolationist successor difficult.
The potential roadblock for Mr Trump was just one of three major setbacks to hit the White House in a savage week for the increasingly isolated president.
In the early hours of Saturday the US government partially shut down after Democrats refused to accede to Mr Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion to build 215 miles of his promised border wall.
The impasse over a spending bill meant 380,000 government workers being sent home. Another 420,000, including border patrol agents, continued working without pay over Christmas. Mr Trump blamed the Democrats.
Amid the uncertainty, he suffered a third major blow as the stock market, regularly vaunted by Mr Trump as a sign of his success in office, had its worst week in a decade, plunging seven per cent.
Mr Trump spent much of his time in the White House this week watching the Fox Business Network on TV and telling aides he wanted to fire Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, for raising interest rates. Advisers cautioned that would have a further devastating effect on the markets.
Mr Mattis resigned on Thursday in protest at Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, and draw them down in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Mr Trump had reportedly stunned advisers by telling Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call: “You know what? It [Syria] is yours. I’m leaving.”
On Saturday, Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, also resigned in protest. He said it was “reckless” to consider Isil defeated. More resignations were expected.
Mr Trump played down the development, tweeting on Saturday night that “I do not know” the envoy and it’s a “nothing event.”
Brett McGurk, who I do not know, was appointed by President Obama in 2015. Was supposed to leave in February but he just resigned prior to leaving. Grandstander? The Fake News is making such a big deal about this nothing event!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
Shortly after news of McGurk’s resignation broke, Mr Trump again defended his decision to pull all of the roughly 2,000 U.S. forces from Syria in the coming weeks, unleashing a series of
I am in the White House, working hard. News reports concerning the Shutdown and Syria are mostly FAKE. We are negotiating with the Democrats on desperately needed Border Security (Gangs, Drugs, Human Trafficking & more) but it could be a long stay. On Syria, we were originally…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2018
….going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago – we never left. When I became President, ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2018
If anybody but your favorite President, Donald J. Trump, announced that, after decimating ISIS in Syria, we were going to bring our troops back home (happy & healthy), that person would be the most popular hero in America. With me, hit hard instead by the Fake News Media. Crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
Meanwhile, retired General Jack Keane, a Fox analyst and a favourite to become the new defence secetary, slammed Mr Trump’s decision, saying he stood with Mr Mattis.
Republican senator Tom Cotton, another favourite for the job, also publicly criticised the Syria withdrawal.
Hitting back on Twitter, Mr Trump took a swipe at Mr Mattis.
When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should. Interesting relationship-but I also gave all of the resources that he never really had. Allies are very important-but not when they take advantage of U.S.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
Mr Trump’s nominee would have to be confirmed by Congress. But both Democrat and Republican senators indicated they would not confirm an “America First” defence secretary.
Senator Ron Johnson, Republican chairman of the the homeland security committee, said: “I’d like a Mattis clone. I think we all would.”
The impasse may mean Patrick Shanahan, Mr Mattis’s deputy, becoming acting defence secretary for an extended period of time.
The civilian, former Boeing executive is personally liked by Mr Trump and has been working closely with Mike Pence on the new Space Force
From early in the Trump administration Mr Mattis, along with two retired generals – chief of staff John Kelly and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster – had been seen by many as a guardrail against impulsive moves by the president.
Whispering in the corridors of Congress concerned Republicans called the three generals the “axis of adults,” or the “troika of sanity”. In national security circles analysts also referred to the “Committee to save America,” which included Rex Tillerson, Mr Trump’s original secretary of state.
By February, when Mr Mattis leaves the Pentagon, all will be gone. Their departure left allies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East reeling.
“Who will persuade Trump not to withdraw from Nato? Really scary possibility, no longer theoretical,” said Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel.
Professor William Brooks, of Johns Hopkins University in Washington, said the president would be “free of advisers who seek to contain and control his isolationist bent and chaos-sowing decisions”.
Mr Trump faced further problems as Mick Mulvaney, the man chosen to replace Mr Kelly as chief of staff, was found to have called the border wall plan “absurd and childish” in 2015.
Democrats take over control of the House of Representatives on Jan 3, and it will become even more difficult for Mr Trump to obtain funding for the wall.
His decision to hold out for $5.7 billion now was spurred by a backlash from his own supporters, who fear it may never be built.
The backlash was led by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, and media commentator Ann Coulter.
Republican senator Bob Corker said: “You have two talk radio hosts who completely flipped the president. And so, do we succumb to tyranny of talk radio hosts?”
In an apparent attempt at compromise Mr Trump released on Twitter a diagram of a “beautiful and totally effective Steel Slats Barrier” – a fence with spikes on top – which he hoped the Democrats would agree to fund instead of a solid wall.
He said it was a “wall or a slat fence or whatever you want to call it. But we need a great barrier.”
The trouble leading into Christmas is likely to be the beginning of a long two years for Mr Trump until the 2020 elections. The president faces a House of Representatives being taken over by the Democrats in the new year – potentially blocking his legislative agenda and launching various investigations into the White House and Mr Trump.
